In what is an unexpected development, Cycling Australia’s selectors have decided that 2002 world road championship runner-up Robbie McEwen won’t be part of the squad for this year’s race.
McEwen announced the news this evening on Twitter, his brief message making it clear that he was surprised to be told that he will miss out.
“I won't be at Worlds in Geelong,” he wrote. “Not selected. Don't know who the 9 are but know I'm not. Yes I'm disappointed. Thought I'd be good there.”
While the Katusha rider is regarded as a pure sprinter rather than a Classic specialist, his career track record in the worlds is nevertheless a very strong one. He was second in Zolder in 2002, finishing just behind Mario Cipollini, and was then fifth on a tougher course in Salzburg four years later.
He has also taken an impressive twelve stages in the Tour de France and simply couldn’t be ruled out for a medal if the race came down to a sprint. He would also be one of the most experienced riders on the Australian team, having taken three green jerseys and five editions of Paris-Brussels.
McEwen told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this month that he felt he deserved a place. ''I think the team needs to be a group of experienced worlds riders who can all ride the finale of the race as it is a circuit that provides opportunities for different types of riders,'' he said.
He also confirmed that he had almost fully recovered from his bad crash in the Tour de France. ''I am almost over the injuries,” he stated. “My hip and back have recovered, although, I still need some physio to get everything straight and strong. My elbow is painful, but not a hindrance to my riding. I am still in recovery mode, just riding a few 'crits' [criteriums] and doing some slow, easy training rides before I step things back up to get ready for worlds - provided I get selected.”
Since that point, he was named to the Australian long list, joining Heinrich Haussler and 13 others on the early selection. The others in contention were Baden Cooke, Stuart O’Grady and Richie Porte (Saxo Bank), Allan Davis (Astana), current world road race champion Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team), Simon Gerrans, Chris Sutton and Matt Hayman (Team Sky), Wesley Sulzberger (Française des Jeux), plus HTC Columbia team-mates Matt Goss, Adam Hansen, Mark Renshaw and Michael Rogers.
Although the decision was not due to be made until Tuesday, it is quite possible that others on that list have also already been told that they will not get the chance to compete. The news will be all the more disappointing for those omitted as the worlds are taking place on home soil this year.
Today’s decision will be seen as a surprising one by many, particularly as McEwen picked up a fine stage win in the Eneco Tour this week. He timed his sprint perfectly to win into Rhenen on Wednesday, beating Lucas Sebastien Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Allan Davis (Astana). He was then second the following day behind André Greipel (HTC Columbia), and placed fifth today. He also picked up six top-five placings in the Tour de France, and would have performed even better had he not been injured.
Experts are divided as to whether or not the Geelong course is likely to produce a bunch sprint on October 3rd, but with teams like Great Britain willing to put their weight behind Mark Cavendish, many will question McEwen’s exclusion. Current champion Cadel Evans has said that he believes the course will not be hard enough for him to repeat his victory.